The Department of the Army Seal and the Department of the Army Emblem are, respectively, the official seal and emblem of the United States Department of the Army (formerly, of the War Department). The "War Office Seal" was created in 1778 and the Emblem was developed out of the seal and approved in 1947.

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The Army Seal was used originally during the American Revolution to authenticate documents. It displayed the designation "War Office", which was synonymous with Headquarters of the Army, and the Roman date MDCCLXXVIII (1778) the first time it was used. It remained unchanged until 1947, when the War Office banner was replaced with "Department of the Army" and the date was changed to 1775, the year in which the Army was established. The seal embodies the Army's ideals of loyalty, vigilance, perseverance, truth, courage, zeal, fortitude, remembrance, determination, constancy, achievement, dignity, and honor. The changes were legislated by the National Security Act of 1947, and authorized by Section 3011, Title 10, United States Code.

Prior to the establishment of the "Department of the Army Emblem", there was no official display item to identify the Army. The Seal had traditionally been used to authenticate documents only and was not authorized for public display. In recognizing the need to provide a display item, the Secretary of the Army approved the emblem design as the official emblem to represent the Army on January 29, 1947.

In the center is a Roman cuirass below a vertical unsheathed sword, point up, the pommel resting on the neck opening of the cuirass and a Phrygian cap supported on the sword point, all between on the left an espontoon and on the right a musket with fixed bayonet crossed in saltire behind the cuirass and passing under the sword guard. To the left of the cuirass and esponton is a national color of the Revolutionary War period with cords and tassels, on a flagstaff with spearhead, above a cannon barrel, the muzzle end slanting upward behind the cuirass, in front of the drum, with two drumsticks and the fly end of the flag draped over the drumhead; below, but partly in front of the cannon barrel, is a pile of three cannon balls. To the right of the cuirass and musket is the flag of the Department of the Army, with cords and tassels, on a flagstaff with spearhead, similarly arranged above a mortar on a carriage, the mortar facing inward and in front of the lower portion of the color and obscuring the lower part of it; below the mortar are two bomb shells placed side by side. Centered above the Phrygian cap is a rattlesnake holding in its mouth a scroll inscribed "This We'll Defend". Centered below the cuirass are the Roman numerals "MDCCLXXVIII".

The Institute also describes the differences between the Seal and the Emblem:

The Department of the Army Emblem is derived from the Seal of the Department of the Army and differs from the Seal in several respects:

a. The Emblem is displayed in color while the Seal is not.

b. The Emblem includes the inscription "Department of the Army" instead of the Seal inscription "War Office".

c. On the Emblem, the American flag is on its own right (observers left) to reflect the current custom for display of flags. The flag of the United States Army pattern has been added in place of the opposing flag displayed on the seal.

d. The Roman numerals "MDCCLXXVIII" which indicate the date the Seal was adopted, were replaced with the date "1775" to reflect the date the U.S. Army was established.

The central element of the seal and emblem, the Roman cuirass, is a symbol of strength and defense. The sword, esponton (a type of half-pike formerly used by subordinate officers), musket, bayonet, cannon, cannonballs, mortar, and mortar bombs are representative of Army implements. The drum and drumsticks are symbols of public notification of the Army's purpose and intent to serve the Nation and its people. The Phrygian cap (often called the "Cap of Liberty") supported on the point of an unsheathed sword and the motto "This We'll Defend" on a scroll held by the rattlesnake is a symbol depicted on some American colonial flags and signifies the Army's constant readiness to defend and preserve the United States. The symbolism for the elements of the emblem is the same as for the seal with the deviations and additions noted under “Description” above: The colors of the design elements are those traditionally associated with the ideals of the United States and of the U.S. Army. The flags are depicted in their approved colors. Blue is symbolic of loyalty, vigilance, perseverance, and truth. Red denotes courage, zeal, and fortitude. White alludes to deeds worthy of remembrance. Black is indicative of determination and constancy. Gold represents achievement, dignity, and honor.

This "War Office Seal" continues to be used to this day when legal certification is necessary to authenticate as "official" documents and records of the Department of the Army.

Reproduction of the emblem is authorized in publications and other printed matter of an official or quasi-official nature in U.S. Army approved films and in official U.S. Army motion pictures or television programs. The design may not be modified in any manner. It may be reproduced in its proper colors, through the use of a one-color line process, or as a line drawing. The use of the emblem for any other purposes, including its incorporation in other items for commercial sale, will be only as authorized by the Institute of Heraldry.

1.
Board of War
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On January 24,1776, Congressional delegate Edward Rutledge, echoing Gen. George Washingtons own concerns, suggested that a war office similar to Britains be established. Pressure from Washington and the volume of military business led Congress to establish the Board of War. Five delegates of Congress, initially John Adams, Roger Sherman, Benjamin Harrison, James Wilson, the Board of War began functioning on June 21,1776. Organization of the Board of War underwent several significant changes after its inception, the original board could not keep pace with the volume of work, and in early April 1777 it recommended its own replacement by a permanent administrative body. On October 17,1777, Congress approved a plan called for a Board of War consisting of three permanent members—men who were not members of Congress—plus a clerical staff. Congress also expanded the boards duties, in addition to the administrative functions of its predecessor, the new boards responsibilities included supervising recruitment and producing weapons. It was to act as Congress sole official intermediary in dealing with the Army, mifflin persuaded Congress to expand the board to five members, which it did on November 24, and recommended Richard Peters and Maj. Gen. Horatio Gates for the new vacancies. Congress appointed both men and named former Commissary General Joseph Trumbull to replace Harrison, at Mifflins suggestion, Gates was named president of the board. Various modifications to the structure and duties of the Board of War continued to be throughout the war. Ford, Worthington C. ed. Journals of the Continental Congress, 1774-1789. Library of Congress, v.4, pp. 85–86, v.5, pp. 434–435, v.7, pp. 241–242, v.9, pp. 818–820,874, 959–960, 971–972, v.12, p.1076, v.15, p.1312. Board of War to Washington, Library of Congress, George Washington Papers, Washington to Congress, Library of Congress, George Washington Papers, Series 2, Letterbook 8. U. S. Army Center of Military History Publication 60-4-1, U. S. Government Printing Office

2.
Seal (device)
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A seal is a device for making an impression in wax, clay, paper, or some other medium, including an embossment on paper, and is also the impression thus made. The original purpose was to authenticate a document, a wrapper for one such as a modern envelope, the seal-making device is also referred to as the seal matrix or die, the imprint it creates as the seal impression. In most traditional forms of dry seal the design on the matrix is in intaglio. The design on the impression will reverse that of the matrix and this will not be the case if paper is embossed from behind, where the matrix and impression read the same way, and both matrix and impression are in relief. However engraved gems were carved in relief, called cameo in this context. The process is essentially that of a mould and these pendent seal impressions dangled below the documents they authenticated, to which the attachment tag was sewn or otherwise attached. Some jurisdictions consider rubber stamps or specified signature-accompanying words such as seal or L. S. to be the equivalent of, i. e. an equally effective substitute for. In Europe, although coats of arms and heraldic badges may well feature in such contexts as well as on seals, the study of seals is known as sigillography or sphragistics. Seals were used in the earliest civilizations and are of importance in archaeology. In ancient Mesopotamia carved or engraved cylinder seals in stone or other materials were used and these could be rolled along to create an impression on clay, and used as labels on consignments of trade goods, or for other purposes. They are normally hollow and it is presumed that they were worn on a string or chain round the neck, many have only images, often very finely carved, with no writing, while others have both. From Ancient Egypt seals in the form of signet-rings, including some with the names of kings, have been found, recently, seals have come to light in South Arabia datable to the Himyarite age. One example shows a name written in Aramaic engraved in reverse so as to read correctly in the impression, from the beginning of the 3rd millennium BC until the Middle Ages, seals of various kinds were in production in the Aegean islands and mainland Greece. In the Early Minoan age these were formed of stone and ivory. By the Middle Minoan age a new set for seal forms, motifs, hard stone requires new rotary carving techniques. The Late Bronze Age is the par excellence of the lens-shaped seal and the seal ring. These were a luxury art form and became keenly collected. His collection fell as booty to Pompey the Great, who deposited it in a temple in Rome, engraved gems continued to be produced and collected until the 19th century

3.
Emblem
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An emblem is an abstract or representational pictorial image that represents a concept, like a moral truth, or an allegory, or a person, like a king or saint. Although the words emblem and symbol are used interchangeably, an emblem is a pattern that is used to represent an idea or an individual. An emblem crystallizes in concrete, visual terms some abstraction, a deity, an emblem may be worn or otherwise used as an identifying badge or patch. For example, in America, police officers badges refer to their personal metal emblem whereas their woven emblems on uniforms identify members of a particular unit. A real or metal shell, the emblem of St. James the Apostle, sewn onto the hat or clothes. In the Middle Ages, many saints were given emblems, which served to them in paintings and other images, St. Catherine had a wheel, or a sword, St. Anthony Abbot, a pig. These are also called attributes, especially when carried by or close to the saint in art. Kings and other grand persons increasingly adopted personal devices or emblems that were distinct from their family heraldry. The most famous include Louis XIV of Frances sun, the salamander of Francis I of France, the boar of Richard III of England, pisanello produced many of the earliest and finest of these. A symbol, on the hand, substitutes one thing for another, in a more concrete fashion, The Christian cross is a symbol of the Crucifixion. The Red Cross is one of three representing the International Red Cross. A red cross on a background is the emblem of humanitarian spirit. The crescent shape is a symbol of the moon, it is an emblem of Islam, the skull and crossbones is a symbol identifying a poison. The skull is an emblem of the nature of human life. A totem is specifically an animal emblem that expresses the spirit of a clan, heraldry knows its emblems as charges. The lion passant serves as the emblem of England, the lion rampant as the emblem of Scotland, an icon consists of an image, that has become standardized by convention. A logo is an impersonal, secular icon, usually of a corporate entity, since the 15th century the terms of emblem and emblematura belong to the termini technici of architecture. They mean an iconic painted, drawn, or sculptural representation of a concept affixed to houses, Emblem in this sense refers to a didactic or moralizing combination of picture and text intended to draw the reader into a self-reflective examination of his or her own life

4.
United States Department of the Army
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The Department of the Army is one of the three military departments within the Department of Defense of the United States of America. The Secretary of the Army is an official appointed by the President. The highest-ranking military officer in the department is the Chief of Staff of the Army, by amendments to the National Security Act of 1947 in 1949, the Department of the Army was transformed to its present-day status. The Department of the Army is a Military Department within the United States Department of Defense, the Department is headed by the Secretary of the Army, who by statute must be a civilian, appointed by the President with the confirmation by the United States Senate. The Department of the Army is divided between its Headquarters at the Seat of Government and the organizations of the Army. Only the Secretary of Defense has the authority to transfer of forces to. The Office of the Secretary and the Army Staff are organized along lines, with civilians. The Army Staff is led by the Chief of Staff of the Army, a general who is the highest-ranking officer in the Army. The Chief of Staff is assisted in managing the Army Staff by the Vice Chief of Staff of the United States Army, the Army Staff is divided into several directorates, each headed by a three-star general. A key official within the Army Staff is the Director of the Army Staff, the Director is responsible for integrating and synchronizing the work of the Office of the Secretary and the Army Staff so that they meet the goals and priorities of the Secretary of the Army. Army Regulation 10–87, Accessed on 2011-08-04, Army. mil Department of the Army in the Federal Register HQ DA organization

5.
United States Department of War
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The Secretary of War, a civilian with such responsibilities as finance and purchases and a minor role in directing military affairs, headed the War Department throughout its existence. Retired senior General Henry Knox, then in civilian life, served as the first United States Secretary of War, forming and organizing the department and the army fell to Secretary Knox. On November 8,1800 the War Department building with its records, foundation of the new military academy at West Point along the Hudson River upstream from New York City in 1802 was important to the future growth of the American army. The multiple failures and fiascos of the War of 1812 convinced Washington that thorough reform of the War Department was necessary, winfield Scott became the senior general until the start of the American Civil War in 1861. The bureau chiefs acted as advisers to the Secretary of War while commanding their own troops, the bureaus frequently conflicted among themselves, but in disputes with the commanding general, the Secretary of War generally supported the bureaus. Congress regulated the affairs of the bureaus in detail, and their chiefs looked to that body for support, during the American Civil War, the War Department responsibilities expanded. It handled the recruiting, training, supply, medical care, transportation, a separate command structure took charge of military operations. In the late stages of the war, the Department took charge of refugees and freedmen in the American South through the Bureau of Refugees, Freedmen, during Reconstruction, this bureau played a major role in supporting the new Republican governments in the southern states. When military Reconstruction ended in 1877, the U. S. Army removed the last troops from military occupation of the American South, and the last Republican state governments in the region ended. The Army comprised hundreds of small detachments in forts around the West, dealing with Indians, the United States Army, with 39,000 men in 1890 was the smallest and least powerful army of any major power in the late 19th century. By contrast, France had an army of 542,000, temporary volunteers and state militia units mostly fought the Spanish–American War of 1898. This conflict demonstrated the need for effective control over the department. Elihu Root enlarged the United States Military Academy at West Point, New York and established the United States Army War College and he changed the procedures for promotions and organized schools for the special branches of the service. He also devised the principle of rotating officers from staff to line, indeed, Secretary Taft exercised little power, President Theodore Roosevelt made the major decisions. In 1911, Secretary Henry L. Stimson and Major General Leonard Wood, his chief of staff, the general staff assisted them in their efforts to rationalize the organization of the army along modern lines and in supervising the bureaus. Assisted by industrial advisers, they reorganized the system of the army. General March reorganized the general staff along similar lines and gave it authority over departmental operations. After the war, the Congress again granted the bureaus their former independence, in the 1920s, General John J. Pershing realigned the general staff on the pattern of his American Expeditionary Force field headquarters, which he commanded

6.
National Security Act of 1947
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The National Security Act of 1947 was a major restructuring of the United States governments military and intelligence agencies following World War II. The majority of the provisions of the Act took effect on September 18,1947, the Act merged the Department of War and the Department of the Navy into the National Military Establishment, headed by the Secretary of Defense. It also created the Department of the Air Force, which separated the Army Air Forces into its own service and it also protected the Marine Corps as an independent service, under the Department of the Navy, prohibiting it from ever being absorbed into the Army. Aside from the reorganization, the act established the National Security Council and the Central Intelligence Agency. The National Security Act of 1947 was a restructuring of the United States governments military. The act and its changes, along with the Truman Doctrine, the bill signing took place aboard Trumans VC-54C presidential aircraft Sacred Cow, the first aircraft used for the role of Air Force One. The majority of the provisions of the Act took effect on September 18,1947 and his power was initially limited and it was difficult for him to exercise the authority to make his office effective. This was later changed in the amendment to the act in 1949, the Act merged the Department of War and the Department of the Navy into the National Military Establishment, headed by the Secretary of Defense. It also created the Department of the Air Force, which separated the Army Air Forces into its own service and it also protected the Marine Corps as an independent service, under the Department of the Navy, prohibiting it from ever being absorbed into the Army. Initially, each of the three service secretaries maintained quasi-cabinet status, but the act was amended on August 10,1949, at the same time, the NME was renamed as the Department of Defense. The purpose was to unify the Army, Navy, and Air Force into a federated structure. S. s first peacetime intelligence agency. The councils function was to advise the president on domestic, foreign, and military policies, the 1949 Revolt of the Admirals. The Story Behind the National Security Act of 1947, underlying assumptions of the National Security Act of 1947. The National Security Act of 1947, Its Thirtieth Anniversary, enrolled Acts and Resolutions of Congress, compiled 1789 -2008. U. S. National Archives and Records Administration

7.
United States Secretary of the Army
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The Secretary of the Army is nominated by the President and confirmed by the U. S. Senate, the Secretary of the Army is a non-Cabinet position serving under the Secretary of Defense. Robert M. Speer took office as Acting Secretary on January 20,2017 and he will perform his duties until the U. S. Senate confirms a new Army Secretary, Karl M. Schneider will perform the duties of Undersecretary of the Army. Mr. Speer was formerly Assistant Secretary of the Army, the Secretary of the Army is in effect the chief executive officer of the Department of the Army, and the Chief of Staff of the Army works directly for the Secretary of the Army. The Secretary presents and justifies Army policies, plans, programs, and budgets to the Secretary of Defense, other executive branch officials, the Secretary also communicates Army policies, plans, programs, capabilities, and accomplishments to the public. As necessary, the Secretary convenes meetings with the leadership of the Army to debate issues, provide direction. The Secretary is a member of the Defense Acquisition Board, other offices may be established by law or by the Secretary of the Army. No more than 1,865 officers of the Army on the active-duty list may be assigned or detailed to permanent duty in the Office of the Secretary of the Army and on the Army Staff

8.
United States Army Institute of Heraldry
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The United States Army Institute of Heraldry, also known as The Institute of Heraldry, furnishes heraldic services to the U. S. Armed Forces and other U. S. government organizations, including the Executive Office of the President, limited research and information services concerning official symbolic items are also provided to the general public. The Institute of Heraldry is located at Fort Belvoir, an installation within the metropolitan area of Washington. The staff consists of thirty-two civilians, Heraldic and other military symbols have been used by the U. S. Armed Forces and government agencies since the beginning of the American Revolution. S, in 1924, formal staff responsibility for specific military designs was delegated to the Quartermaster General. As the needs for symbolism by the services and the national government expanded. The expansion of the Army during World War II, and the subsequent increased interest in symbolism and it was further expanded by Pub. L. 85–263, approved September 1957,71 Stat,89, which delineated the authority of the Secretary of the Army to furnish heraldic services to the military departments and other branches of the federal government. On 1960-08-10, Army General Order Number 29 placed the U. S. Army Institute of Heraldry under the control of the Quartermaster General. The Army Adjutant General’s office assumed responsibility of the institute in 1962, in 1987, another realignment subordinated the Institute to the U. S. In April 1994, the Institute of Heraldry moved from Cameron Station to Fort Belvoir, in October 2004, another realignment assigned responsibility for the Heraldic Program to Office of the Administrative Assistant to the Secretary of the Army, part of the United States Army. Approve designs for distinctive unit insignia, Regimental Distinctive Insignia, and shoulder sleeve insignia, authorize heraldic items for U. S. Army Organizations. Authorize the use of Army insignia when incorporated into items for commercial sale, design and develop insignia seals, medals, badges, band regalia and flags. Establish Army policy for flag design and display, monitor the Heraldic Quality Control System in accordance with Army Regulation 672-8, to ensure heraldic items are manufactured according to government specifications or purchase descriptions. Prepare heraldic item specifications and provide engineering support to manufacturers, provide manufacturers with government-loaned tools and specifications for heraldic items. Blazon, Or a chevron Gules, on a chief Sable a label of the first, blazon, On a wreath Or and Gules, a griffin salient of the first. The griffin, a fabulous animal half eagle and half lion, is symbolic of wisdom, the role of the griffin as guardian of treasure is symbolic of the institutes singular responsibility to safeguard the heraldic art of the federal government. The eagle also alludes to the United States and the lion to Great Britain, dexter, The large white star edged with blue symbolizes all the States, which comprise the United States, and was suggested by the union of the United States Flag

9.
Cuirass
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A cuirass is a piece of armour, formed of a single or multiple pieces of metal or other rigid material which covers the front of the torso. In a suit of armour, the cuirass was generally connected to a back piece, cuirass could also refer to the complete torso-protecting armour. As parts of the military equipment of classic antiquity, cuirasses and corsets of bronze, iron. Secondary protection for the breast was worn in earlier times by men-at-arms in addition to mail hauberks and it was not until the 14th century that the plate armour became an established part of medieval armour. The Roman emperor Galba donned a cuirass just before he went to his death. Suetonius records in 12 Caesars that, As was offering sacrifice on the morning before he was killed and he did however put on a linen cuirass, though he openly declared that it would afford little protection against so many swords. The cuirass was almost universally worn throughout its lifespan as a form of armour, the cuirass was always made long enough to rest on the hips. If it had been suspended by the shoulders, its weight would have exhausted its wearer. In the second half of the 15th century, the cuirass was occasionally superseded by the brigandine jacket, in essence, the brigandine jacket was constructed of metal plates sewn into a fabric jacket. About 1550, the breast-piece of the cuirass was characterized by a central ridge, called the tapul. Somewhat later, the tapul was moved lower on the breast, eventually, the profile of the plate began to resemble a pea pod and, as such, was referred to as the peascod cuirass. Corslets provided with both breast and back pieces were worn by foot-soldiers in the 17th century, while their comrades were equipped in heavier and stronger cuirasses. These defenses continued in use longer than any single piece of armour. Both the French and German heavy cavalry wore cuirasses in parade leading up to World War I, in the early part of that conflict, they painted their cuirasses black and wore canvas protection covers over the neo-Roman style helmets. Some years after Waterloo, certain historical cuirasses were taken from their repose in the Tower of London and adapted for service by the Life Guards, for parade purposes, the Prussian Gardes du Corps and other corps wore cuirasses of richly decorated leather. During the Heian period, Japanese armourers started to use leather as a material, by the end of the Heian period, the Japanese cuirass had arrived at the shape recognized as part of iconic samurai armor. Scales of iron and leather, bound together by silk lace, were used to construct samurai armours, the introduction of firearms to Japan in 1543 resulted in the development of a cuirass constructed of solid iron plates. The use of the samurai cuirass lasted until the 1860s when an army using conventional uniforms was established

10.
Sword
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A sword is a long bladed weapon intended for slashing or thrusting. The precise definition of the term varies with the epoch or the geographical region under consideration. A sword consists of a blade attached to a hilt. The blade can be straight or curved, thrusting swords have a pointed tip on the blade, and tend to be straighter, slashing swords have sharpened cutting edge on one or both sides of the blade, and are more likely to be curved. Many swords are designed for thrusting and slashing. Historically, the sword developed in the Bronze Age, evolving from the dagger, the later Iron Age sword remained fairly short and without a crossguard. The word sword continues the Old English, sweord, the use of a sword is known as swordsmanship or as fencing. In the Early Modern period, western sword design diverged into two forms, the thrusting swords and the sabers. The thrusting swords such as the rapier and eventually the smallsword were designed to impale their targets quickly and their long and straight yet light and well balanced design made them highly maneuverable and deadly in a duel but fairly ineffective when used in a slashing or chopping motion. A well aimed lunge and thrust could end a fight in seconds with just the swords point, the saber and similar blades such as the cutlass were built more heavily and were more typically used in warfare. Built for slashing and chopping at multiple enemies, often from horseback, most sabers also had sharp points and double edged blades, making them capable of piercing soldier after soldier in a cavalry charge. Sabers continued to see use until the early 20th century. The US Navy kept tens of thousands of sturdy cutlasses in their armory well into World War II, non-European weapons called sword include single-edged weapons such as the Middle Eastern scimitar, the Chinese dao and the related Japanese katana. The Chinese jian is an example of a non-European double-edged sword, the first weapons that can be described as swords date to around 3300 BC. They have been found in Arslantepe, Turkey, are made from arsenical bronze, some of them are inlaid with silver. The sword developed from the dagger when the construction of longer blades became possible, from the late 3rd millennium BC in the Middle East, first in arsenic copper, then in tin-bronze. Blades longer than 60 cm were rare and not practical until the late Bronze Age because the strength of bronze is relatively low. These are the type A swords of the Aegean Bronze Age, one of the most important, and longest-lasting, types swords of the European Bronze Age was the Naue II type, also known as Griffzungenschwert

11.
Hilt
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The hilt of a sword is its handle, consisting of a guard, grip and pommel. The guard may contain a crossguard or quillons, a ricasso may also be present, but this is rarely the case. A tassel or sword knot may be attached to the guard or pommel, the pommel is an enlarged fitting at the top of the handle. They were originally developed to prevent the sword slipping from the hand, from around the 11th century in Europe they became heavy enough to be a counterweight to the blade. This gave the sword a point of not too far from the hilt allowing a more fluid fighting style. Depending on sword design and swordsmanship style, the pommel may also be used to strike the opponent, pommels have appeared in a wide variety of shapes, including oblate spheroids, crescents, disks, wheels, and animal or bird heads. They are often engraved or inlayed with various designs and occasionally gilt, ewart Oakeshott introduced a system of classification of medieval pommel forms in his The Sword in the Age of Chivalry to stand alongside his blade typology. Oakeshott pommel types are enumerated with capital letters A–Z, with subtypes indicated by numerals, one of the most common forms, found throughout the 10th to 15th centuries. I, a disk with wide chamfered edges, the disk being much smaller than in H. I1 is a hexagonal variant J, as I. T1 to T5 are variants of this basic type U, key-shaped type of the half of the 15th century V. W, a wheel shape Z, square shape, with its sub-types used to closely define the area and age, Z1 and Z2b, Z3. The grip is the handle of the sword and it was usually of wood or metal, and often covered with shagreen. Shark skin proved to be the most durable in temperate climates but deteriorated in hot climates, alternatively, many sword types opt for ray skin instead, referred to in katana construction as the same. Whatever material covered the grip, it was usually glued on and held on with wire wrapped around it in a helix. It is a misconception that the cross-guard protects the users entire hand from the opponents sword. Only with the abandonment of the shield and then the armoured gauntlet did a full hand guard become necessary, the crossguard still protected the user from a blade that was deliberately slid down the length of the blade to cut off or injure the hand. Early swords do not have true guards but simply a form of stop to prevent the hand slipping up the blade when thrusting as they were used in conjunction with a shield. From the 11th century, European sword guards took the form of a straight crossbar perpendicular to the blade, beginning in the 16th century in Europe, guards became more and more elaborate, with additional loops and curved bars or branches to protect the hand

12.
Phrygian cap
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The Phrygian cap is a soft conical cap with the top pulled forward, associated in antiquity with several peoples in Eastern Europe and Anatolia, including Phrygia, Dacia and the Balkans. In early modern Europe it came to signify freedom and the pursuit of liberty through a confusion with the pileus, accordingly, the Phrygian cap is sometimes called a liberty cap, in artistic representations it signifies freedom and the pursuit of liberty. It is used in the coat of arms of certain Republics or of republican State institutions in the place where otherwise a Crown would be used and it thus came to be identified as a symbol of the republican form of government. A number of national personifications, in particular Frances Marianne, are depicted wearing the Phyrgian cap. By the 4th century BC the Phrygian cap was associated with Phrygian Attis, the consort of Cybele, at around the same time, the cap appears in depictions of the legendary king Midas and other Phrygians in Greek vase-paintings and sculpture. Such images predate the earliest surviving references to the cap. By extension, the Phrygian cap came to be applied to several other non-Greek-speaking peoples as well, other Greek earthenware of antiquity also depict Amazons and so-called Scythian archers with Phrygian caps. Although these are military depictions, the headgear is distinguished from Phrygian helmets by long ear flaps, the headgear also appears in 2nd-century BC Boeotian Tanagra figurines of an effeminate Eros, and in various 1st-century BC statuary of the Commagene, in eastern Anatolia. Greek representations of Thracians also regularly appear with Phrygian caps, most notably Bendis, the Thracian goddess of the moon and the hunt, and Orpheus, a legendary Thracian poet and musician. While the Phrygian cap was of wool or soft leather, in times the Greeks had already developed a military helmet that had a similarly characteristic flipped-over tip. These so-called Phrygian helmets were usually of bronze and in prominent use in Thrace, Dacia, Magna Graecia and the rest of the Hellenistic world from the 5th century BC up to Roman times. Due to their similarity, the cap and helmet are often difficult to distinguish in Greek art unless the headgear is identified as a soft flexible cap by long earflaps or a long neck flap. The Greek concept passed to the Romans in its sense, and thus encompassed not only to Phrygians or Trojans. On Trajans Column, which commemorated Trajans epic wars with the Dacians, parthians appear with Phrygian caps in the 2nd-century Arch of Septimius Severus, which commemorates Roman victories over the Parthian Empire. Likewise with Phrygians caps, but for Gauls, appear in 2nd-century friezes built into the 4th century Arch of Constantine, the Phrygian cap reappears in figures related to the first to fourth century religion Mithraism. This astrology-centric Roman mystery cult projected itself with pseudo-Oriental trappings in order to distinguish itself from both traditional Roman religion and from the mystery cults. In the artwork of the cult, the figures of the god Mithras as well as those of his helpers Cautes and Cautopates are routinely depicted with a Phrygian cap. The function of the Phrygian cap in the cult are unknown, early Christian art build on the same Greco-Roman perceptions of Zoroaster and his Magi as experts in the arts of astrology and magic, and routinely depict the three wise men with Phrygian caps

13.
Espontoon
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A spontoon, sometimes known by the variant spelling espontoon or as a half-pike, is a type of European polearm that came into being alongside the pike. The spontoon was in use by the mid 17th century. Unlike the pike, which was a long weapon, the spontoon measured only 6 or 7 feet in overall length. Generally, this featured a more elaborate head than the typical pike. The head of a spontoon often had a pair of blades on each side, giving the weapon the look of a military fork. Italians might have been the first to use the spontoon, and, in its early days, after the musket replaced the pike as the primary weapon of the foot soldier, the spontoon remained in use as a signalling weapon. Non-commissioned officers carried the spontoon as a symbol of their rank and used it like a mace, in order to issue battlefield commands to their men. At the Battle of Cowpens during the American Revolution, a spontoon was used by Captain Anderson of Maryland to pole vault to a British cannon, during the Napoleonic Wars, the spontoon was used by Sergeants to defend the colours of a battalion or regiment from cavalry attack. The spontoon was one of few polearms that stayed in use long enough to make it into American history, as late as the 1890s, the spontoon could still be seen accompanying marching soldiers. Lewis and Clark brought spontoons on their expedition with the Corps of Discovery, the weapons came in handy as backup arms when the Corps travelled through areas populated by bears. These used the same shaped blades mounted on the side of the weapon, today, a spontoon is carried by the drum major of the U. S. Armys Fife and Drum Corps, a ceremonial unit of the 3rd US Infantry Regiment

14.
Musket
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A musket is a muzzle-loaded, smoothbore firearm, fired from the shoulder. Muskets were designed for use by infantry, a soldier armed with a musket had the designation musketman or musketeer. The musket replaced the arquebus, and was in turn replaced by the rifle. By the end of the 17th century, a version of the musket had edged out the arquebus, and the addition of the bayonet edged out the pike. In the 18th century, improvements in ammunition and firing methods allowed rifling to be practical for use. In the 19th century, rifled muskets became common, combining the advantages of rifles, about the time of the introduction of cartridge, breechloading, and multiple rounds of ammunition just a few years later, muskets fell out of fashion. Musket calibers generally ranged from 0.50 to 0.90 in, rifled muskets of the mid-19th century, like the Springfield Model 1861, were significantly more accurate, with the ability to hit a man sized target at a distance of 500 yards or more. However, in the Italian War of 1859, French forces were able to defeat the longer range of Austrian rifle muskets by aggressive skirmishing and rapid bayonet assaults during close quarters combat. According to the Etymology Dictionary, firearms were often named after animals, and the word derived from the French word mousquette. An alternative theory is that derives from the 16th century French mousquet, -ette, from the Italian moscetto, -etta, the Italian moscetto is a diminutive of mosca, a fly. Hand cannons arrived in Europe from Asia sometime in the early 14th century and they were more commonly used by the early 15th century, particularly in the Hussite wars. It is possible that the noise was at least as important as the missile and these were very short ranged, inaccurate and difficult to load and fire. Hand cannons had a handle, or no handle at all. A wooden stock was added, allowing the weapon to be easily held. The hand cannon evolved into the arquebus by the mid 15th century, the matchlock mechanism was a simple solution to this problem, and placed the match in a clamp on the end of a lever. When a trigger was pulled, the lever would rotate and allowed the match to come in contact with the touch hole, the first European usage of firearms in large ratios was in Hungary under king Matthias Corvinus. Every third soldier in the Black Army of Hungary had an arquebus, gradual advances in the empirical understanding of the corning of gunpowder made possible a more powerful explosive. The cost of gunpowder also gradually fell, by the 16th century the handheld firearm became commonplace, replacing the crossbow and longbow in all advanced armies, and known as the arquebus

15.
Bayonet
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In this regard, it is an ancillary close-quarter combat or last-resort weapon. Some modern bayonets, such as the one used on the British SA80 assault rifle, knife-shaped bayonets—when not fixed to a gun barrel—have long been utilized by soldiers in the field as general purpose cutting implements. The term bayonette dates back to the end of the 16th century, for example, Cotgraves 1611 Dictionarie describes the Bayonet as a kind of small flat pocket dagger, furnished with knives, or a great knife to hang at the girdle. Likewise, Pierre Borel wrote in 1655 that a kind of long-knife called a bayonette was made in Bayonne, the bayonet may have emerged to allow a hunter to fend off wild animals in the event of a missed shot. This idea was particularly persistent in Spain where hunting arms were equipped with bayonets from the 17th century until the advent of the cartridge era. The weapon was introduced into the French army by General Jean Martinet and was common in most European armies by the 1660s, the usefulness of such a dual-purpose arm soon became apparent. Early muskets fired at a rate, and could be both inaccurate and unreliable, depending on the quality of manufacture. A bayonet on a 5-foot tall musket achieved a similar to the infantry spear. The bayonet/musket combination was, however, considerably heavier than a polearm of the same length, early bayonets were of the plug type. This allowed light infantry to be converted to infantry and hold off cavalry charges. The bayonet had a handle that slid directly into the musket barrel. This naturally prevented the gun from being fired, in 1671, plug bayonets were issued to the French regiment of fusiliers then raised. They were issued to part of an English dragoon regiment raised in 1672 and disbanded in 1674, however, it was not widely adopted at the time. Soon socket bayonets would incorporate both ring mounts and a blade, keeping the bayonet well away from the muzzle blast of the musket barrel. In 1703, the French infantry adopted spring-loaded locking system that prevented the bayonet from accidentally separating from the musket, henceforward, the socket bayonet became, with the musket or other firearm, the typical weapon of the French infantry. The socket bayonet had by then adopted by most European armies. The British socket bayonet had a blade with a flat side towards the muzzle. However it had no lock to keep it fast to the muzzle and was well-documented for falling off in the heat of battle

16.
Saltire
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A saltire, also called Saint Andrews Cross, is a heraldic symbol in the form of a diagonal cross, like the shape of the letter X in Roman type. The word comes from the Middle French sautoir, possibly owing to the shape of the areas in the design. It appears in flags, including those of Scotland and Jamaica. A variant, also appearing on many past and present flags, a warning sign in the shape of a saltire is also used to indicate the point at which a railway line intersects a road at a level crossing. In Unicode, the cross is encoded at U+2613 ☓ saltire, see X mark#Unicode for similar symbols that might be more accessible. The saltire appears on vexilla that are represented consistently on coinage of Christian emperors of Rome, in the ninth and tenth century the saltire was revived in Constantinople as a symbol of Christian-imperial power. Anne Roes detected the symbol, which appears with balls in the quadrants formed by the arms of the chi-cross. She suggested that early Christians endorsed its solar symbolism as appropriate to Christ and she also wrote, although it cannot be proved. In the white saltire of St. Andrew we still have a reminiscence of the old standard of the Persepolitan kingdom, when two or more saltires appear, they are usually blazoned as cut off. A saltorel is a saltire, the term is usually defined as one-half the width of the saltire. A field per saltire is divided into four areas by a saltire-shaped cut, otherwise, each of the four divisions may be blazoned separately. Examples include, Suffolk County Council, England, The Corporation of the Municipality of Brighton, when five or more compact charges are in saltire, one is in the center and one or more lie on each arm of an invisible saltire. The Saint Andrews Cross was worn as a badge on hats in Scotland, the Cross of Burgundy, a form of the Saint Andrews Cross, is used in numerous flags across Europe and the Americas. It was first used in the 15th century as an emblem by the Valois Dukes of Burgundy, the Duchy of Burgundy, forming a large part of eastern France and the Low Countries, was inherited by the House of Habsburg on the extinction of the Valois ducal line. As a result, the Cross of Burgundy has appeared in a variety of flags connected with territories formerly part of the Burgundian or Habsburg inheritance. Examples of such diversity include the Spanish naval ensign, the flag of Carlism, the flag of the Dutch municipality of Eijsden, the naval ensign of the Imperial Russian and Russian navies is a blue saltire on a white field. Prior to the Union the Royal Scots Navy used a red ensign incorporating the St Andrews Cross, with its colours exchanged, the same design forms part of the arms and flag of Nova Scotia. The Brazilian cities of Rio de Janeiro and Fortaleza also use a blue saltire on a white field, the flags of the Spanish island of Tenerife and the remote Colombian islands of San Andrés and Providencia also use a white saltire on a blue field

17.
Betsy Ross flag
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The first documented usage of this flag was in 1792. The flag features 13 stars to represent the original 13 colonies with the stars arranged in a circle, the National Museum of American History notes that the story first entered into American consciousness about the time of the 1876 Centennial Exposition celebrations. Canby said he first obtained this information from his aunt Clarissa Sydney Wilson in 1857, Canby dates the historic episode based on Washingtons journey to Philadelphia, in late spring 1776, a year before Congress passed the Flag Act. Betsy Ross was promoted as a role model for young girls. Historian Laurel Thatcher Ulrich further explored this line of enquiry in a 2007 article, How Betsy Ross Became Famous, Oral Tradition, Nationalism, Betsy accepted the job to manufacture the flag, altering the committees design by replacing the six-pointed stars with five-pointed stars. Betsy Rosss story was published in 1870,34 years after her death, by her only surviving grandson, William J. Canby, the paper included stories he had heard from family members throughout the years. According to Canbys paper, Sitting sewing in her one day with her girls around her. She recognized one of these as the uncle of her husband, Col. GEORGE ROSS. The committee were shown into her back parlor, the back of the shop. It was defective to the eye of Mrs Ross and unsymmetrical, and she offered suggestions which Washington. One of the alterations had reference to the shape of the stars, in the drawing they were made with six points. Mrs Ross at once said that this was wrong, the stars should be five pointed, they were aware of that, colonel Washington was the active one in making the design, the others having little or nothing to do with it. When it was completed, it was given to William Barrett, painter, the gentleman drew out of a chest an old ships color, which he loaned her to show her how the sewing was done, and also the drawing painted by Barrett. Other designs had been prepared by the committee and one or two of them were placed in the hands of other seamstresses to be made. The flag was finished, and Betsy returned it, the first Star Spangled Banner that ever floated upon the breeze. The next day Col. Canbys account has been the source of some debate and it is generally regarded as being neither proven nor disproven, and any evidence that may have once existed has been lost. The main reason historians and flag experts do not believe that Betsy Ross designed or sewed the first American flag is a lack of historical evidence, no records show that the Continental Congress had a committee to design the national flag in the spring of 1776. However he did serve on a committee with John Ross uncle George Read in 1776, there is no evidence to show that Betsy Ross and George Washington knew each other, or that George Washington was ever in her shop

18.
Cannon
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A cannon is any piece of artillery that uses gunpowder or other usually explosive-based propellants to launch a projectile, which may or may not be explosive. The word cannon is derived from languages, in which the original definition can usually be translated as tube, cane. The Greeks invented the first type—a steam cannon—designed by Archimedes during the Siege of Syracuse, ctesibius built a steam cannon in Alexandria and in the fifteenth century Leonardo da Vinci designed another, the Architonnerre, based on Archimedes work. The earliest form of artillery was developed in Song China, over time replacing siege engines. In the Middle East, the first use of the cannon is argued to be during the 1260 Battle of Ain Jalut between the Mamluk Sultanate and Mongol Empire. The first cannon in Europe were in use in the Iberian Peninsula by the mid-13th century and it was during this period, the Middle Ages, that cannon became standardised, and more effective in both the anti-infantry and siege roles. After the Middle Ages most large cannon were abandoned in favour of greater numbers of lighter, Cannon also transformed naval warfare in the early modern period, as European navies took advantage of their firepower. In World War I, the majority of fatalities were caused by artillery. Most modern cannon are similar to those used in the Second World War, Cannon was widely known as the earliest form of a gun and artillery, before early firearms were invented. The word has been used to refer to a gun since 1326 in Italy, both Cannons and Cannon are correct and in common usage, with one or the other having preference in different parts of the English-speaking world. Cannons is more common in North America and Australia, while cannon as plural is more common in the United Kingdom, Cannon in general have the form of a truncated cone with an internal cylindrical bore for holding an explosive charge and a projectile. The thickest, strongest, and closed part of the cone is located near the explosive charge, as any explosive charge will dissipate in all directions equally, the thickest portion of the cannon is useful for containing and directing this force. Field artillery cannon in Europe and the Americas were initially made most often of bronze, though later forms were constructed of cast iron and eventually steel. However, cast iron cannon have a tendency to burst without having any previous weakness or wear. The following terms refer to the components or aspects of a classical western cannon as illustrated here. In what follows, the words near, close, and behind will refer to those parts towards the thick, closed end of the piece, and far, front, in front of, and before to the thinner, open end. Bore, The hollow cylinder bored down the centre of the cannon, including the base of the bore or bottom of the bore, the diameter of the bore represents the cannons calibre. Chamber, The cylindrical, conical, or spherical recess at the nearest end of the bottom of the bore into which the gunpowder is packed

19.
Drum
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The drum is a member of the percussion group of musical instruments. In the Hornbostel-Sachs classification system, it is a membranophone, Drums consist of at least one membrane, called a drumhead or drum skin, that is stretched over a shell and struck, either directly with the players hands, or with a drum stick, to produce sound. There is usually a head on the underside of the drum. Other techniques have been used to cause drums to make sound, Drums are the worlds oldest and most ubiquitous musical instruments, and the basic design has remained virtually unchanged for thousands of years. Drums may be played individually, with the using a single drum. Others are normally played in a set of two or more, all played by the one player, such as drums and timpani. A number of different drums together with form the basic modern drum kit. Drums are usually played by striking with the hand, or with one or two sticks, in many traditional cultures, drums have a symbolic function and are used in religious ceremonies. Drums are often used in therapy, especially hand drums, because of their tactile nature. In popular music and jazz, drums usually refers to a kit or a set of drums. Drums acquired even divine status in places such as Burundi, where the karyenda was a symbol of the power of the king, the shell almost invariably has a circular opening over which the drumhead is stretched, but the shape of the remainder of the shell varies widely. In the western tradition, the most usual shape is a cylinder, although timpani, for example. Other shapes include a design, truncated cones, goblet shaped. Drums with cylindrical shells can be open at one end, or can have two drum heads, single-headed drums typically consist of a skin stretched over an enclosed space, or over one of the ends of a hollow vessel. Drums with two heads covering both ends of a shell often have a small hole somewhat halfway between the two heads, the shell forms a resonating chamber for the resulting sound. Exceptions include the African slit drum, also known as a log drum as it is made from a tree trunk. Drums with two heads can also have a set of wires, called snares, held across the head, top head. The heads tension can be adjusted by loosening or tightening the rods, many such drums have six to ten tension rods

20.
Mortar (weapon)
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A mortar is a device that fires projectiles at low velocities and short ranges. The mortar has traditionally used as a weapon to propel explosive mortar bombs in high-arcing ballistic trajectories. The weapon is typically muzzle-loading with a short, often smooth-bore barrel, Modern mortars are light and easily portable. They can be used for fire support with a variety of ammunition. Mortars have been used for hundreds of years, originally in siege warfare, many historians consider the first mortars to have been used at the 1453 siege of Constantinople by Mehmed the Conqueror. A European account of the 1456 siege of Belgrade by Giovanni da Tagliacozzo said that the Ottoman Turks used seven mortars that fired stone shots one Italian mile high. The time of flight of these was long enough that casualties could be avoided by posting observers to give warning of their trajectories. However, earlier mortars were used in Korea in a 1413 naval battle when Korean gunsmiths developed the Wangu, the earliest version of the Wangu dates back to 1407. Choe Hae-san, the son of Choe Mu-seon, is credited with inventing the first Wangu. Early mortars, such as the Pumhart von Steyr, were large and heavy. Simply made, these weapons were no more than iron bowls reminiscent of the kitchen, an early transportable mortar was invented by Baron Menno van Coehoorn. This mortar fired a shell, which had a fuse lit by the hot gases when fired. This innovation was taken up, necessitating a new form of naval ship. Mortars played a significant role in the Venetian conquest of Morea, an early use of these more mobile mortars as field weapons was by British forces in the suppression of the 1719 Jacobite rising at the Battle of Glen Shiel. High angle trajectory mortars held an advantage over standard field guns in the rough terrain of the West Highlands of Scotland. Coehorn-type mortars of approximately 180 pounds weight were used by both sides during the American Civil War and these answered as coehorns, and shells were successfully thrown from them into the trenches of the enemy. The mortar had fallen out of use by the Napoleonic era. The German Army studied the Siege of Port Arthur, where heavy artillery had been unable to destroy defensive structures like barbed wire, the solution they developed was a short-barrelled rifled muzzle-loading mortar called the Minenwerfer, and was built in three sizes

21.
Shell (projectile)
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A shell is a payload-carrying projectile that, as opposed to shot, contains an explosive or other filling, though modern usage sometimes includes large solid projectiles properly termed shot. Solid shot may contain a pyrotechnic compound if a tracer or spotting charge is used, originally, it was called a bombshell, but shell has come to be unambiguous in a military context. Words cognate with grenade are still used for an artillery or mortar projectile in some European languages, shells are usually large-calibre projectiles fired by artillery, combat vehicles, and warships. Shells usually have the shape of a cylinder topped by a nose for good aerodynamic performance, possibly with a tapering base. Solid cannonballs did not need a fuse, but hollow munitions filled with something such as gunpowder to fragment the ball, needed a fuse, percussion fuses with a spherical projectile presented a challenge because there was no way of ensuring that the impact mechanism hit the target. Therefore, shells needed a fuse that was ignited before or during firing. The earliest record of shells being used in combat was by the Republic of Venice at Jadra in 1376, shells with fuses were used at the 1421 siege of St Boniface in Corsica. These were two hollowed hemispheres of stone or bronze held together by an iron hoop, as described in their book, these hollow, gunpowder-packed shells were made of cast iron. At least since the 16th Century grenades made of ceramics or glass were in use in Central Europe, a hoard of several hundred ceramic greandes were discovered during building works in front of a bastion of the Bavarian City of Ingolstadt, Germany dated to the 17th Century. Lots of the grenades obtained their orignal blackpowder loads and igniters, most probably the grenades were intentionally dumped the moat of the bastion before the year 1723. Early powder burning fuses had to be loaded fuse down to be ignited by firing or a portfire put down the barrel to light the fuse, other shells were wrapped in bitumen cloth, which would ignite during the firing and in turn ignite a powder fuse. Nevertheless, shells came into use in the 16th Century. By the 18th Century, it was known that the fuse towards the muzzle could be lit by the flash through the windage between the shell and the barrel, the use of exploding shells from field artillery became relatively commonplace from early in the 19th century. Until the mid 19th century, shells remained as simple exploding spheres that used gunpowder and they were usually made of cast iron, but bronze, lead, brass and even glass shell casings were experimented with. The word bomb encompassed them at the time, as heard in the lyrics of The Star-Spangled Banner, typically, the thickness of the metal body was about a sixth of their diameter and they were about two thirds the weight of solid shot of the same calibre. To ensure that shells were loaded with their fuses towards the muzzle, in 1819, a committee of British artillery officers recognised that they were essential stores and in 1830 Britain standardised sabot thickness as a half inch. The sabot was also intended to reduce jamming during loading, despite the use of exploding shell, the use of smoothbore cannons, firing spherical projectiles of shot, remained the dominant artillery method until the 1850s. By the late 18th century, artillery could use canister shot to defend itself from infantry or cavalry attack and this involved loading a tin or canvas container filled with small iron or lead balls instead of the usual cannonball

22.
Rattlesnake
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Rattlesnakes are a group of venomous snakes of the genera Crotalus and Sistrurus of the subfamily Crotalinae. The 36 known species of rattlesnakes have between 65 and 70 subspecies, all native to the America, ranging from southern Alberta, Rattlesnakes are predators that live in a wide array of habitats, hunting small animals such as birds and rodents. The threat of envenomation, advertised by the shaking of the titular noisemaker at the end of their tails. However, rattlesnakes fall prey to hawks, weasels, king snakes, Rattlesnakes are heavily preyed upon as neonates, while they are still weak and mentally immature. Large numbers of rattlesnakes are killed by humans, Rattlesnake populations in many areas are severely threatened by habitat destruction, poaching, and extermination campaigns. Rattlesnake are the leading contributor to snakebite injuries in North America, however, rattlesnakes rarely bite unless provoked or threatened, if treated promptly the bites are seldom fatal. Rattlesnakes receive their name from the rattle located at the end of their tails, the scientific name Crotalus is derived from the Greek κρόταλον, meaning castanet. The name Sistrurus is the Latinized form of the Greek word for tail rattler and shares its root with the ancient Egyptian musical instrument the sistrum, Rattlesnakes are native to the Americas, living in diverse habitats from southwestern Canada to central Argentina. The large majority of live in the American Southwest and Mexico. Four species may be found east of the Mississippi River, in the United States, the states with the most types of rattlesnakes are Texas and Arizona. Most species live near open, rocky areas, rocks offer them cover from predators, plentiful prey, and open basking areas. However, rattlesnakes can also be found in a variety of other habitats including prairies, marshes, deserts. The most probable ancestral area of rattlesnakes is the Sierra Madre Occidental region in Mexico, the most probable vegetation or habitat of the ancestral area appears to be pine-oak forests. Feeding habits play an important ecological role by limiting the size of rodent populations, Rattlesnakes consume mice, rats, small birds, and other small animals. They lie in wait for their prey, or hunt for it in holes, the prey is killed quickly with a venomous bite as opposed to constriction. If the bitten prey moves away before dying, the rattlesnake can follow it by its scent, when it locates the fallen prey, it checks for signs of life by prodding with its snout, flicking its tongue, and using its sense of smell. Once the prey has become incapacitated, the rattlesnake locates its head by odors emitted from the mouth, the prey is then ingested head-first, which allows wings and limbs to fold at the joints in a manner which minimizes the girth of the meal. The gastric fluids of rattlesnakes are extremely powerful, allowing for the digestion of flesh, optimal digestion occurs when the snake maintains a body temperature between 80 and 85 °F

23.
Flag of the United States Army
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The flag of the United States Army displays a blue replica of the War Office Seal set on a white field. Beneath the seal is a scarlet scroll bearing the inscription in white letters. Beneath the scroll, in blue Arabic numerals, is 1775, all of this is on a white background. The flag was adopted by U. S. President Dwight D. Eisenhower, on June 12,1956. Prior to 1956 the Army was the armed service without a flag to represent the entire service. In 1955, prompted by the need for a flag to represent the U. S. Army in joint service ceremonies, Secretary of the Army Wilber M. Brucker requested the creation of an army flag. The original flag measured 4 feet 4 inches by 5 feet 6 inches, United States Army is inscribed in white letters on a scarlet scroll, with the year 1775 in blue numerals below. The concept of campaign streamers began during the American Civil War, the Army has defined an official campaign as a particular combat action or series of actions that has historical significance or military importance to the Army and the nation. In 1890 the War Department directed that regimental honors be engraved on silver rings placed on the staffs of regimental flags. In 1920 the War Department ordered that each color would bear streamers, in the colors of the campaign medal ribbon. The creation of the Army Flag provided a means to all the Army’s campaigns. The following campaign streamers are authorized for the U. S. S, United States Army Flag, Short history of Army Flag at the U. S. Army Quartermaster Museum

24.
Spontoon
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A spontoon, sometimes known by the variant spelling espontoon or as a half-pike, is a type of European polearm that came into being alongside the pike. The spontoon was in use by the mid 17th century. Unlike the pike, which was a long weapon, the spontoon measured only 6 or 7 feet in overall length. Generally, this featured a more elaborate head than the typical pike. The head of a spontoon often had a pair of blades on each side, giving the weapon the look of a military fork. Italians might have been the first to use the spontoon, and, in its early days, after the musket replaced the pike as the primary weapon of the foot soldier, the spontoon remained in use as a signalling weapon. Non-commissioned officers carried the spontoon as a symbol of their rank and used it like a mace, in order to issue battlefield commands to their men. At the Battle of Cowpens during the American Revolution, a spontoon was used by Captain Anderson of Maryland to pole vault to a British cannon, during the Napoleonic Wars, the spontoon was used by Sergeants to defend the colours of a battalion or regiment from cavalry attack. The spontoon was one of few polearms that stayed in use long enough to make it into American history, as late as the 1890s, the spontoon could still be seen accompanying marching soldiers. Lewis and Clark brought spontoons on their expedition with the Corps of Discovery, the weapons came in handy as backup arms when the Corps travelled through areas populated by bears. These used the same shaped blades mounted on the side of the weapon, today, a spontoon is carried by the drum major of the U. S. Armys Fife and Drum Corps, a ceremonial unit of the 3rd US Infantry Regiment

Board of War
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On January 24,1776, Congressional delegate Edward Rutledge, echoing Gen. George Washingtons own concerns, suggested that a war office similar to Britains be established. Pressure from Washington and the volume of military business led Congress to establish the Board of War. Five delegates of Congress, initially John Adams, Roger Sherman, Benjamin H

1.
Board of War and Ordnance

Seal (device)
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A seal is a device for making an impression in wax, clay, paper, or some other medium, including an embossment on paper, and is also the impression thus made. The original purpose was to authenticate a document, a wrapper for one such as a modern envelope, the seal-making device is also referred to as the seal matrix or die, the imprint it creates

Emblem
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An emblem is an abstract or representational pictorial image that represents a concept, like a moral truth, or an allegory, or a person, like a king or saint. Although the words emblem and symbol are used interchangeably, an emblem is a pattern that is used to represent an idea or an individual. An emblem crystallizes in concrete, visual terms some

2.
"The big eat the small", a political emblem from an emblem book, 1617

United States Department of the Army
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The Department of the Army is one of the three military departments within the Department of Defense of the United States of America. The Secretary of the Army is an official appointed by the President. The highest-ranking military officer in the department is the Chief of Staff of the Army, by amendments to the National Security Act of 1947 in 194

1.
Emblem of the Department of the Army

United States Department of War
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The Secretary of War, a civilian with such responsibilities as finance and purchases and a minor role in directing military affairs, headed the War Department throughout its existence. Retired senior General Henry Knox, then in civilian life, served as the first United States Secretary of War, forming and organizing the department and the army fell

1.
State, War, and Navy Building in 1917

2.
The seal of the U.S. Department of War.

National Security Act of 1947
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The National Security Act of 1947 was a major restructuring of the United States governments military and intelligence agencies following World War II. The majority of the provisions of the Act took effect on September 18,1947, the Act merged the Department of War and the Department of the Navy into the National Military Establishment, headed by th

1.
President Truman signs the National Security Act Amendment of 1949 in the Oval Office.

2.
National Security Act of 1947

3.
President Truman signed the National Security Act of 1947 onboard this VC-54C Presidential transport, the first aircraft used for the role of Air Force One.

United States Secretary of the Army
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The Secretary of the Army is nominated by the President and confirmed by the U. S. Senate, the Secretary of the Army is a non-Cabinet position serving under the Secretary of Defense. Robert M. Speer took office as Acting Secretary on January 20,2017 and he will perform his duties until the U. S. Senate confirms a new Army Secretary, Karl M. Schneid

1.
Eric K. Fanning, the acting 22nd Secretary of the Army

2.
Emblem of the Department of the Army

3.
Kenneth Claiborne Royall

4.
Gordon Gray

United States Army Institute of Heraldry
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The United States Army Institute of Heraldry, also known as The Institute of Heraldry, furnishes heraldic services to the U. S. Armed Forces and other U. S. government organizations, including the Executive Office of the President, limited research and information services concerning official symbolic items are also provided to the general public.

1.
United States Army Institute of Heraldry

Cuirass
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A cuirass is a piece of armour, formed of a single or multiple pieces of metal or other rigid material which covers the front of the torso. In a suit of armour, the cuirass was generally connected to a back piece, cuirass could also refer to the complete torso-protecting armour. As parts of the military equipment of classic antiquity, cuirasses and

1.
Cuirass worn by a Carabiniers-à-Cheval.

2.
Indian steel cuirass, 17th to 18th century

3.
An 1854 cuirass worn by the French Cuirassiers

4.
German helmet and frontal armoured plate for trench warfare, 1916

Sword
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A sword is a long bladed weapon intended for slashing or thrusting. The precise definition of the term varies with the epoch or the geographical region under consideration. A sword consists of a blade attached to a hilt. The blade can be straight or curved, thrusting swords have a pointed tip on the blade, and tend to be straighter, slashing swords

1.
Swiss longsword, 15th- or 16th-century

2.
Hallstatt swords

3.
Apa-type swords, 17th-century BC.

4.
The swords found together with the Nebra skydisk, ca. 1600 BC.

Hilt
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The hilt of a sword is its handle, consisting of a guard, grip and pommel. The guard may contain a crossguard or quillons, a ricasso may also be present, but this is rarely the case. A tassel or sword knot may be attached to the guard or pommel, the pommel is an enlarged fitting at the top of the handle. They were originally developed to prevent th

1.
Silver pattern-welded rapier guard, from between 1580 and 1600, with reproduction blade.

2.
Germany 19th century: Various colours and tassels of sword knots.

3.
German cavalry officers' Stichdegen (dress sword) with sword knot, or Troddel. When worn, the sword knot is wrapped around the sword guard, or sometimes looped though a slot in the guard.

Phrygian cap
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The Phrygian cap is a soft conical cap with the top pulled forward, associated in antiquity with several peoples in Eastern Europe and Anatolia, including Phrygia, Dacia and the Balkans. In early modern Europe it came to signify freedom and the pursuit of liberty through a confusion with the pileus, accordingly, the Phrygian cap is sometimes called

Espontoon
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A spontoon, sometimes known by the variant spelling espontoon or as a half-pike, is a type of European polearm that came into being alongside the pike. The spontoon was in use by the mid 17th century. Unlike the pike, which was a long weapon, the spontoon measured only 6 or 7 feet in overall length. Generally, this featured a more elaborate head th

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Spontoon.

Musket
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A musket is a muzzle-loaded, smoothbore firearm, fired from the shoulder. Muskets were designed for use by infantry, a soldier armed with a musket had the designation musketman or musketeer. The musket replaced the arquebus, and was in turn replaced by the rifle. By the end of the 17th century, a version of the musket had edged out the arquebus, an

Bayonet
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In this regard, it is an ancillary close-quarter combat or last-resort weapon. Some modern bayonets, such as the one used on the British SA80 assault rifle, knife-shaped bayonets—when not fixed to a gun barrel—have long been utilized by soldiers in the field as general purpose cutting implements. The term bayonette dates back to the end of the 16th

Saltire
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A saltire, also called Saint Andrews Cross, is a heraldic symbol in the form of a diagonal cross, like the shape of the letter X in Roman type. The word comes from the Middle French sautoir, possibly owing to the shape of the areas in the design. It appears in flags, including those of Scotland and Jamaica. A variant, also appearing on many past an

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St Andrew crucified crucified on a diagonal cross

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Timber framing Saltire in Duderstadt, Germany

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A blue-and-white saltire used on a road sign to represent the Flag of Scotland.

Betsy Ross flag
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The first documented usage of this flag was in 1792. The flag features 13 stars to represent the original 13 colonies with the stars arranged in a circle, the National Museum of American History notes that the story first entered into American consciousness about the time of the 1876 Centennial Exposition celebrations. Canby said he first obtained

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A "Betsy Ross" flag flying outside San Francisco City Hall, in San Francisco, California

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The "Betsy Ross" flag

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Betsy Ross 1777, a ca. 1920 depiction by artist Jean Leon Gerome Ferris of Ross showing Gen. George Washington (seated, left), Robert Morris and George Ross how she cut the revised five-pointed stars for the flag.

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This 1779 portrait of George Washington by painter Charles Willson Peale features a flag with 13-stars arranged in a circle.

Cannon
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A cannon is any piece of artillery that uses gunpowder or other usually explosive-based propellants to launch a projectile, which may or may not be explosive. The word cannon is derived from languages, in which the original definition can usually be translated as tube, cane. The Greeks invented the first type—a steam cannon—designed by Archimedes d

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An illustration of an "eruptor," a proto-cannon, from the 14th-century Ming Dynasty book Huolongjing. The cannon was capable of firing proto-shells, cast-iron bombs filled with gunpowder.

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Earliest known representation of a firearm (a fire lance) and a grenade (upper right), Dunhuang, 10th century

Drum
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The drum is a member of the percussion group of musical instruments. In the Hornbostel-Sachs classification system, it is a membranophone, Drums consist of at least one membrane, called a drumhead or drum skin, that is stretched over a shell and struck, either directly with the players hands, or with a drum stick, to produce sound. There is usually

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Talking drum.

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Drum carried by John Unger, Company B, 40th Regiment New York Veteran Volunteer Infantry Mozart Regiment, December 20, 1863

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Several American Indian -style drums for sale at the National Museum of the American Indian.

Mortar (weapon)
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A mortar is a device that fires projectiles at low velocities and short ranges. The mortar has traditionally used as a weapon to propel explosive mortar bombs in high-arcing ballistic trajectories. The weapon is typically muzzle-loading with a short, often smooth-bore barrel, Modern mortars are light and easily portable. They can be used for fire s

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French mortar diagram from the 18th century.

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Engraving depicting the Venetian siege of the Acropolis of Athens, September 1687. The trajectory of the shell that hit the Parthenon, causing its explosion, is marked.

Shell (projectile)
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A shell is a payload-carrying projectile that, as opposed to shot, contains an explosive or other filling, though modern usage sometimes includes large solid projectiles properly termed shot. Solid shot may contain a pyrotechnic compound if a tracer or spotting charge is used, originally, it was called a bombshell, but shell has come to be unambigu

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US scientists with a full-scale cut-away model of the W48 155-millimeter nuclear artillery shell, a very small tactical nuclear weapon with an explosive yield equivalent to 72 tons of TNT (0.072 kiloton). It could be fired from any standard 155 mm (6.1 inch) howitzer (e.g., the M114 or M198)

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155 mm M107 projectiles. All have fuzes fitted

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Some shells displayed in Taipei

Rattlesnake
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Rattlesnakes are a group of venomous snakes of the genera Crotalus and Sistrurus of the subfamily Crotalinae. The 36 known species of rattlesnakes have between 65 and 70 subspecies, all native to the America, ranging from southern Alberta, Rattlesnakes are predators that live in a wide array of habitats, hunting small animals such as birds and rode

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Rattlesnake

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Western diamondback rattlesnake (Crotalus atrox), responsible for the majority of venomous snakebites in North America, coiled in defensive posture with rattle erect

Flag of the United States Army
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The flag of the United States Army displays a blue replica of the War Office Seal set on a white field. Beneath the seal is a scarlet scroll bearing the inscription in white letters. Beneath the scroll, in blue Arabic numerals, is 1775, all of this is on a white background. The flag was adopted by U. S. President Dwight D. Eisenhower, on June 12,19

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United States Army

Spontoon
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A spontoon, sometimes known by the variant spelling espontoon or as a half-pike, is a type of European polearm that came into being alongside the pike. The spontoon was in use by the mid 17th century. Unlike the pike, which was a long weapon, the spontoon measured only 6 or 7 feet in overall length. Generally, this featured a more elaborate head th